Our Path Forward
Through 2022-2025, the Alliance will follow a path that strengthens, builds, and integrates a national, equitable DRI ecosystem that is responsive to the evolving needs of researchers and positions Canada as an international leader in digital research.
Our roadmap
The roadmap ties together the strategic objectives and the commitments to the research community. It is a visualization of our goals and actions for 2022-2025 that will shape the Alliance and the future of the digital research infrastructure.
Stabilize and Integrate
As the Alliance assumes its role leading the national DRI, we will establish the foundation for a more robust and equitable DRI that responds to researcher needs.
Advanced Research Computing
→ Design and implement risk mitigation measures to prevent service disruption for ARC services (e.g., critical host site maintenance)
→ Develop a national strategy for the use of public cloud computing and commercial offerings.
Alliance’s Transition into DRI
→ Develop, communicate, and execute The Alliance’s transition into the role of a DRI service provider, service coordinator and investor in DRI. Including the responsibilities held by Compute Canada and the Federation.
Data Sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples in Canada
→ Introduce internal policies that respect and support Indigenous data sovereignty and advance Indigenous Peoples’ access and use of the national DRI.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA)
→ Establish guidelines and metrics to ensure all decisions and activities are compliant with the Alliance’s foundational principles of EDIA.
Funding and Revenue Model
→ Develop formal funding processes and agreements between federal and provincial funders for national, regional and local services
→ Develop a funding model to ensure long-term sustainable funding.
National DRI
→ Evaluate and improve the current process for allocating DRI resources to better respond to the needs of all researchers.
→ Invest in additional traditional and cloud computing, and storage resources, and develop a sustainable financial plan for its maintenance and continual renewal.
New Service Delivery Model
→ Establish a DRI service classification model that will differentiate between National, Regional and Local service and funding provision, and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the Alliance and its partners.
→ Clearly define the scope of services that will be delivered between the Alliance and its partners for customized service delivery at each level.
→ Define the responsibilities of partners at the national, regional and local levels to ensure alignment with the funding allocation principles.
Research Data Management
→ Develop programs to support the adoption of best practices for research data management throughout the research lifecycle.
Research Software
→ Develop programs to support the adoption of best practices of research software development and management throughout the research lifecycle.
Training and Development
→ Establish a system for the ongoing DRI training and education of researchers and professional support personnel.
Expand
The Alliance will collaborate with its national, regional, and local DRI partners to build a pan-Canadian ecosystem that is rooted in our shared vision of a researcher-focused, strategic, and sustainable DRI.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility
→ Develop outreach programs and solutions to promote equitable awareness and access to the Alliance’s tools and services, regardless of geography, discipline, or institutional affiliation
→ Make services, support and documentation available to all researchers across Canada in French and English, and other languages where applicable.
National and International Engagement
→ Establish national and international partnerships and develop the Alliance’s reputation as a key leader and connector in the global DRI ecosystem.
National DRI
→ Address inefficiencies in active storage usage (e.g. redundant data, data duplication, tier usage) to improve storage availability and capacity.
→ Invest in additional infrastructure for the long-term storage, curation and preservation of research data.
New Service Delivery Model
→ Improve alignment and integration of practices, standards and policies, in collaboration with Tri-Council, and other national and provincial research funders.
→ Develop a portfolio of partnerships and create a model for selection and assessment of partner performance to maximize the DRI service offering across the ecosystem.
→ Ensure the composition and distribution of DRI professional support personnel responds to the researcher community needs they serve.
Research Data Management
→ Collaboratively develop a national strategy for the appropriate management of and access to privacy-protected and other sensitive data.
Research Software
→ Develop a national strategy for treating research software as a first-class output of research.
→ Develop a cybersecurity upskilling program for researchers and higher education institutions.
Scale Up
The Alliance envisions an integrated national DRI that promotes research excellence and innovation, establishing Canada as an international leader in digital research.
Data sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples in Canada
→ Strengthen relationships and assess the DRI needs in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit, Métis and other Indigenous Peoples in Canada
Funding and Revenue Model
→ Leverage partners to expand service customization and establish mixed revenue sources to align with the Alliance’s revenue model.
National and International Engagement
→ Enable the cross-integration of services and infrastructure provided by national and international partners to facilitate research collaboration and excellence for the Canadian research community.
National DRI
→ Expand and support the use of specialized research platforms available for Canadian researchers.
→ Provide specialized researcher support (e.g., by discipline, demographic) to help researchers with their unique technical needs.
New Service Delivery Model
→ Optimize the service delivery structure to best serve researchers’ evolving DRI needs.
Download our Strategic Plan
The Alliance’s strategic plan for 2022-2025 is the result of a detailed review of the digital research infrastructure and defines the journey, roadmap and commitments to the research community.
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